The Great War: World War IThe War to End All Wars

“The lamps have gone out all over Europe and we shall not see them

lit again in our lifetime.” - British Prime Minister Lord Grey

Long Term Causes of World War I

• Nationalism• Militarism• Imperialism• Peace time alliances• Long-standing ethnic grudges

Map 22.1 European Alliances in 1914 (p. 638)

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Short term timeline leading to World War I

• June 28 - Assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke and heir, Francis Ferdinand (and Sophie, his wife)

• July 23 - Austria issues ultimatum to Serbia and invades on July 27

• July 28-30 - Russians mobilize as Serbia’s ally• August 1 - Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, declares

war on Russia (and Serbia)• August 3 - Germany declares war on France (allied

with Russia) and invades Belgium en route to Paris, France

• August 4 - Great Britain, France’s ally, declares war on Germany

The sides formed

• Triple Entente (Allies)– France– Great Britain– Italy– Russia (1917 exit)– United States (1917

entry)

• Central Powers– Germany– Austria-Hungary

(empire)– Ottoman Empire– Bulgaria

United States remains neutral

• Woodrow Wilson: “Remain neutral in thought as well as deed”

• To protect international trading rights• “He kept us out of war.” 1916

presidential campaign slogan

U.S. Neutrality under fire• British blockade of North Sea• Germans engage in

submarine (u-boat) warfare• Lusitania crisis (May 1915)

British liner sunk by German U-boats

• Arabic and Sussex sinkings (Germans issue Sussex pledge)

• Economic ties with Britain and France - war time trade and US financing of allied war effort

Shifting US public opinion

• Reports of German cruelty (Huns) reinforced by Lusitania

• Ethnic loyalties• Native born Americans

(not Indians) favored Britain and French victory

• British War Propaganda• Pro-War politicians (TR)

More Propaganda

Preparedness• Greater $ for military

spending necessary• National Security

League• National Defense Act:

June 1916• Midwest and Western

Americans opposed to preparedness (Populists, Progressives, Socialists)

Election of 1916

• “He Kept us out of War”• Peace efforts had failed• Wilson narrowly won• January 1917, “Peace without Victory” Speech• April 1917, Wilson asked for declaration of war.

From Neutrality to War

• Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

• Russian Revolution (1917)

• Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

• “The World Must be made safe for Democracy” (Progressive crusade)

Mobilization in the USA• War Industries Board

(Bernard Baruch) coordinated production and price controls

• Food Administration (Herbert Hoover) voluntary efforts to conserve food for soldiers

• Financing - Liberty Bonds

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Food Administration Posters

America and the War Effort (p. 636)

“Remember Your First Thrill of American Liberty” (p. 649)

Wartime Public Opinion

• Committee on Public Information - propaganda agency in America (George Creel) “do your bit” for the war

• Hate the Hun, Liberty Cabbage, Salisbury Steak, Can the Kaiser

The American Red Cross

The Armed Forces• Selective Service

Act (1917) draft: 2.8 million draftees, 2.9 million volunteers

• Eventually 2 million were sent to Europe

• Blacks - 400,000 served, few officers

• Blacks hoped for service abroad = equal rights at home (not so)

American Society • Women took mens jobs while men were “Over There” led to Nineteenth Amendment

• Mexicans - left Mexico (upheaval and revolution) and took jobs in American West

The Great Migration:Blacks move from South to North

• Blacks (African-Americans - Great Migration to northern cities for job opportunities and to escape poverty

Wartime Civil Liberties• Espionage and Sedition

Acts (1917-18) jail sentences for those critical of disloyal or abusive remarks toward US war effort

• Schenck v. United States (1919) “clear and present danger” - free speech could be limited

Fighting the War• New style of

warfare: mechanized– Machine guns– tanks– long-range, heavy

artillery – poison gas

(various types)– Trench warfare

(not entirely new)– “No-Man’s Land”– Hand grenades

Other factors after US entry

• Russian revolution and withdrawal (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) allowed Germany to focus on Western front entirely

• Naval shipping losses = huge. Led to “Convoy System” and record ship construction

Pershing’s Crusaders: The Doughboys

• American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

• General John J. Pershing

• First major action in spring 1918

American Battles:1918• German Counter-

offensive• Chateau-Thierry (2nd

Battle of the Marne)• Belleau Wood (June

1918)• Meuse (river) -

Argonnes (forest) Offensive (Fall 1918)

• St. Mihiel• November 11, 1918 -

Armistice (cease-fire)

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American Troops at the Western Front, 1918

Map 22.2 U.S Participation on the Western Front, 1918 (p. 644)

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Casualties

• 50,000 Americans died in 1918 combat• 1918 Influenza epidemic (worldwide)

killed thousands of soldiers and millions of people around the globe

• 112,000 American fatalities

Approximate Comparative Losses in World War I

Winning the Peace: The Versailles Peace Conference

• Paris and Palace of Versailles

• Big Four:– Woodrow Wilson

(USA)– David Lloyd George

(GBR)– Georges

Clemenceau (FR)– Orlando Vittorio (IT)

• Russia excluded• Defeated powers

humiliated• Wilson’s 14 points the

major proposal

Wilson’s 14 Points• To “make the world

safe for democracy”• #1-5 - international

law recommendations

• #6-13 - European boundary restructure

• #14 - League of Nations

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